"BITTING-UP"

This is done for 20 minutes each way for the first month of Training (maybe 3mths of Training)

This is done to make the horse:

1. Lighter in the mouth
The horse should be able to have a lighter touch with the rein when you asked him to do something.
You pick up the rein to ask the horse for a cue to do something and the horse responds immediately.

2. To be able to bend
Making the Horse more Ply able and very helpful when it comes to:
Turning on the haunches, loping circles, side passing, lead changes etc.

3. Gets the Horse to Reach
You need the Your Horse Reach Further with both the outside front and back legs.
This makes it easier for the Horse to cross-over when asking for a Turn-a-round or to Side Pass.
Also when the Horse is Loping it can reach further with the lead legs (inside front and rear leg)
to pick-up proper lead every time a lot easier

4. Making the Horse lighter on it's feet
Your horse will be more flexible making it able to move with a lumbering way of going.
He will almost float and not hit the ground so hard and you can see and hear the difference.

Your horse will fight, try to walk forward in a straight line and walk the wrong way.
This is all normal and will do less of it and more standing still or walking in a nice circle as it gets more flexible.

Step 1.

You put the reins up through the gullet of your saddle
Even the reins and leave them loose
NEXT

Tie the reins in a "Half-hitch" around the horn
As shown above

This is what it should look like

Step 2.

You take a "Roping Rein" with a snap at each end.
(a Roping Rein is 6 feet long from the end of the snaps)
Snapping one end to the Snaffle bit
taking the other end and going through the back Dee Ring or Rear Cinch Slot
then back to the the snaffle bit.

Looking like this

Leave for only 20 minutes, then do the other way.
After this is done you can ride the horse
for 10 to 20 minutes with a Martingale.

How to connect the Martingale

First you snap your Martingale to the front ring of your girth as shown above
Then, put the reins through each ring

To measure the right length, This one is "Too Long"
The Martingale is too slack
I sometimes start with this length to get them used to the Martingale

This one is "Too Short"
The reins are pulled downward by the Martingale
If this length is used it will cause the horse to be over briddled

This is the "Proper Length"
You see that the reins are in a straight line from the mouth to the saddle
The Martingale is not pulling down on the reins but snug looking
This is the length to use

This starts the horse to give to the pressure from the reins
At this point when your horse starts to give she is ready for the next step

"THIS IS ONLY DONE AFTER THE HORSE HAS HAD IT'S HEAD TIED AROUND
"FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH" IF THE HORSE IS READY.

With doing this you teach the horse more again about giving.
But, this time you teach him to give not only at the mouth
But you teach him to:

1. Give at both the Pole and the Wither
We need the horse to give at the pole and the wither
Not at the middle of the neck, so that we keep a straighter neck line
This makes the horse more relaxed looking
Instead of looking like he wants to take off at any moment

2. To Round Himself
Your Horse has to be able to round his back
This teaches him Collection and without his chin against his chest

3. How to do a 10 Jog and a 10 Lope
I do this up to the 90 day point and sometimes even go back to it for 30 days at a time
This keeps your Horse Light and Flexible and Rounded
Making for a better Jog and Lope

There are 2 ways to do this

-

The First Way I don't do
This way is good if you want to teach your horse to set-up with a bump of the leg
You simply put the reins between the Horses front legs tying each rein to each stirrup as above left
You want the rein tight enough that it pulls on the mouth when the horse moves
But not too tight. You can tighten later as needed. As shown above right
If this is the way you want then click "Here" to continue

The Second Way and the way that I do it.

To do it this way you put the reins between the front legs

Then come up behind the elbow, as shown above

Up through the Front Dee
If you don't have a Training saddle go through the Dee Ring that the Tie Strap and Off Billet are

Then the reins go through the gullet

_

Hold both reins behind the bit with one hand
and with the other hand hold the reins where they come up through the gullet
Then tighten to the desired tightness
and do a Half hitch around the horn
with both reins done individually

Should look like the above photo

_

Before the horse moves he may fight or back-up or go up
This is normal, just try to drive him foreward

Once he starts to move he will go with his head turned the last way that his head was turned
This will stop after a few minutes

He will go with his head high until he gets used to it
Every once-in-a-well he will stop hard and try to pull his head upwards
This will also stop when he gets the hang of it
He may do this a lot and everyday for a few days or so

This is what you want to see
This was after about 15 minutes the first day
You can see that the reins are loose
The head is level and the neck straight
And her back is starting to round and she is bent into the center of the circle
You do this for about 20 minutes a day or until your horse looks like his

 TOP

R.R.# 1, 9013 Pigram Road
Brownsville, Ontario, Canada
N0L 1C0
519-877-0396 or 519-765-4129
Fax: 519-877-2930
 ghosthollow@ghosthollowfarms.com